Sales tax
Sales tax is a tax on what you sell, set by each US state (and often by cities and counties too). You add it to your customer’s invoice, hold the money, and pay it over to the state with a sales tax return, the form that reports your sales and the tax you collected for a period.
Bokapsys helps in four places, all under Tax → Sales Tax: the Nexus Tracker, Rate Lookup, Exemption Certs and the Return Worksheet. The worksheet adds up the invoices you actually sent, less credit notes, and gives you every figure a typical state return asks for. You type those figures into your state’s website and pay there.
- 1Charge tax on invoices
- 2Build the worksheet
- 3Create the filing record
- 4Type figures into the state portal
- 5Pay the state
- 6Record payment and mark as filed
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- You can see Tax → Sales Tax in the sidebar. Sales tax is on for every workspace; if it is missing, Bokapsys may have switched it off for yours (Contact us). What you can open also depends on your role; see Team and roles.
- You are registered with the state to collect sales tax (you have a sales tax permit) and you know how often the state wants returns: monthly, quarterly or yearly. It’s on your permit or registration letter. Add it as a Sales tax permit registration under Tax → Tax Setup → Jurisdictions so the returns appear on your calendar. See Tax setup.
- Every customer has a State in their billing address (Invoicing (AP-AR) → Customers, open the customer). The worksheet groups sales by that state. For a US customer it must be a real two-letter state code.
- Your invoices charge tax, either with the Tax % on each line or with one rate for the whole invoice. See “How tax on an invoice is read” below.
- You have copies of any exemption certificates your customers gave you.
Key terms
Section titled “Key terms”| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Nexus | A connection with a state that makes you responsible for collecting its sales tax. Having an office or staff there creates nexus. Selling enough into a state can too (called economic nexus); each state sets its own sales or transaction threshold |
| Taxable sale | A sale you charged sales tax on |
| Exempt sale | A sale with no tax because the customer gave you an exemption certificate: a document showing they don’t have to pay tax, for example because they will resell the goods, or they are a non-profit or government body |
| Credit note | A document that cancels all or part of an invoice. On the return it counts as a return: it reduces your sales and the tax you report |
| Remittance | Paying the tax you collected over to the state |
How tax on an invoice is read
Section titled “How tax on an invoice is read”- The worksheet reads the Tax % you set on each invoice line.
- If you tick Apply a single tax rate to the whole invoice (overrides per-line Tax %) on an invoice, the invoice’s tax is spread across its lines in proportion to their amounts.
- Invoice discounts are spread across the lines the same way, so sales figures are after discount.
- Shipping is shown on its own line and is not taxed. Some states do tax shipping, so check your state’s rules before you file.
- A credit note issued in the period is subtracted as a return, with its share of the tax on the invoice it credits.
Only invoices that actually went out count: those that are sent, viewed, partially paid, paid, overdue or written off. Draft and void invoices are left out. An invoice belongs to the period of its issue date.
Build the return worksheet
Section titled “Build the return worksheet”- Go to Tax → Sales Tax and open the Return Worksheet tab. The page is called Sales tax return worksheet.
- Choose the State, Year, How often you file and Period (see the table below). The period starts on the last one that has ended.
- The worksheet appears straight away. At the top you see the state and period, its dates and a due date. If you chose a state you have no sales tax permit registration for, a Not registered here badge shows.
- Read the totals (explained below).
- Read the two tables, By the rate you charged and By the customer’s state, and the Worth knowing notes.
- Click Download the worksheet to save a CSV copy for your records.
- Follow the How to file this card at the bottom (next section).
| Field | What it means | Required | Example | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | All states, or one state. States you are registered in are marked Registered for sales tax. Choose a state to create its filing record | Yes (defaults to All states) | Texas | Your sales tax permit |
| Year | The calendar year. You can pick this year or the two before | Yes | 2026 | — |
| How often you file | Monthly, Quarterly or Annual, as your state assigned you | Yes | Quarterly | Your sales tax permit or the state’s letter |
| Period | Which month, quarter (Q1 to Q4) or the Whole year | Yes | Q2 | The return you are preparing |
What each figure means
Section titled “What each figure means”| Figure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gross sales | Every invoice line in the period, after discount and before tax |
| Taxable sales after returns | Taxable sales less taxable returns (credit notes) |
| Tax to report | Tax collected less tax refunded on credit notes: the figure you usually owe |
| Net sales | Gross sales less returns |
| Taxable sales | Lines where you charged tax |
| Tax collected | The tax on those lines |
| Exempt, certificate on file | Lines with no tax, for a customer who has an exemption certificate for that state covering the invoice date |
| No tax charged | Lines with no tax and no certificate on file. Check these: either they are genuinely non-taxable items, or tax should have been charged |
| Discounts given | Invoice discounts in the period |
| Shipping charged | Shipping on the invoices, shown separately and not taxed |
| Returns (credit notes) and Tax refunded on credit notes | What credit notes in the period took back |
| Invoices, Credit notes | How many of each were counted |
| By the rate you charged | Taxable sales and tax grouped by each rate you used, for example 8.2500% |
| By the customer’s state | Gross, taxable, exempt, no tax charged, returns and tax to report for each customer billing state |
The due date reads Typical due date with “check the date on your state’s notice”: it is the 20th of the month after the period ends, moved to the next working day. Many states use that date, but yours may differ: always use your state’s own date.
If no invoices or credit notes went out in the period, the worksheet says so and reminds you that if you are registered, most states still expect a return showing nothing sold.
Worked example
Section titled “Worked example”Quarter 2, 2026, quarterly filer in Texas. You sent three invoices and no credit notes:
| Invoice | Customer (state) | Line amount | Tax % | Tax | Certificate on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INV-101 | Acme Co (TX) | $10,000 | 8.25 | $825.00 | No |
| INV-102 | Bright Resale (TX) | $4,000 | 0 | $0 | Yes, resale |
| INV-103 | Cole LLC (TX) | $1,000 | 0 | $0 | No |
The worksheet shows Gross sales $15,000.00, Taxable sales and Taxable sales after returns $10,000.00, Tax collected and Tax to report $825.00, Exempt, certificate on file $4,000.00, No tax charged $1,000.00, Invoices 3. Under By the rate you charged: 8.2500% with $10,000.00 taxable and $825.00 tax. Before you file, check why Cole LLC wasn’t charged tax. Had you issued a credit note against INV-101 in the quarter, it would appear under Returns (credit notes) and reduce both taxable sales after returns and the tax to report.
Worth knowing (the notes Bokapsys adds)
Section titled “Worth knowing (the notes Bokapsys adds)”Depending on the period, the worksheet adds notes such as:
- Local breakdown. Bokapsys records the rate you charged on each line. It doesn’t know which city or county that rate belongs to. If your state’s return wants sales split by local area, split the figures yourself.
- More than one currency. If the period has invoices in more than one currency, the figures are added up as invoiced and not converted.
- Customers with no state, or a state Bokapsys doesn’t recognise. These lines are listed separately. Correct the State on the customer to place them.
- Customers outside the United States. Shown on their own row and not part of any state’s figures.
- Discounts, shipping and credit notes, as described above.
File and pay the return
Section titled “File and pay the return”- With one state chosen and the period ended, click Create filing record. You see Filing record created, and the return opens as a filing, … sales tax return, with the worksheet figures. It now shows on your calendar and on Tax → Filings → Sales Tax.
- Read the How to file this card. It says the return goes to your state, that you type the figures in, and when it’s usually due.
- Sign in to your state’s revenue (tax) website and open the sales tax return for the period.
- Copy the figures from the worksheet: gross sales, taxable sales, exempt sales, returns and the tax to report. If the state asks for a city or county split, work it out from your own records.
- Pay the tax in the same state website. Note the confirmation number.
- In Bokapsys, on the filing, click Schedule payment. Paid to is Something else and What it is for is Sales tax payment; check the Amount, choose How you will pay (for example State website) and click Schedule.
- In Tax → Tax Payments, click Record payment on that row, enter the Date paid and the Confirmation number the state gave you, and click Record payment. The message “Your books now show the tax as paid.” confirms it.
- Back on the filing, sign it and click Mark as filed, choosing Filed on a state website. See Filing a return.
Recording the payment is what clears the sales tax you owe in your books. Until then, Bokapsys shows it as scheduled but unpaid. See Tax payments.
On Tax → Filings → Sales Tax, Prepare a return opens the worksheet, and each sales tax filing’s page has Download the worksheet.
How to check it worked
Section titled “How to check it worked”- Tax to report on the worksheet matches the sales tax on your invoices for the period less credit notes (and the movement on your sales tax account in your financial reports).
- After Record payment, the payment’s status shows Paid with your confirmation number.
- After Mark as filed, the return shows Filed on the calendar.
Exemption certificates
Section titled “Exemption certificates”Record a certificate when a customer gives you one, so their untaxed sales in that state are counted as exempt rather than no tax charged.
- Go to Tax → Sales Tax → Exemption Certs.
- Click Add certificate. Fill in the fields below. To keep a copy, click Attach a copy and choose the PDF or photo.
- Click Save. You see Certificate added, and the certificate appears in the list with its Status.
| Field | What it means | Required | Example | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer | The customer the certificate belongs to, chosen from your customers | Yes | Bright Resale | — |
| State | The state the certificate was issued for. It only covers sales in that state | Yes | Texas | The certificate |
| Reason | Resale, Wholesale, Government, Non-profit, Manufacturing, Agricultural or Other | Yes | Resale | The box ticked on the certificate |
| Certificate number | The number on the certificate | Yes | 1-23-456789-0 | The certificate |
| Valid from | The first day the certificate covers | Yes (defaults to today) | 2026-01-01 | The certificate |
| Valid until (optional) | The last day, if it expires | No | 2028-12-31 | The certificate |
The list shows each certificate’s Customer, State, Certificate number, Reason, Valid from, Valid until and Status: Active, Expired or Not yet valid. Use the icons on a row to edit it, attach or replace the copy, download the copy, or delete it. Deleting a certificate means future returns no longer treat that customer as exempt in that state.
A certificate makes the worksheet treat that customer’s untaxed lines in that state as exempt during its dates. It does not change invoices: you still leave tax off the customer’s invoices yourself.
Nexus Tracker
Section titled “Nexus Tracker”Tax → Sales Tax → Nexus Tracker lists, for each state you sell into, your Sales in the period (the last 12 months) and the number of Invoices, with the State threshold and a Registration status:
| Registration status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Registered | You have a sales tax permit registration for this state. |
| No statewide sales tax | The state has no statewide sales tax. |
| Threshold not held | Bokapsys does not hold this state’s economic nexus threshold, so it cannot tell you whether you need to register. The State threshold column says Check the state revenue website. |
| Below the threshold or Yes, since … | Shown where Bokapsys holds the state’s threshold. |
When states show Threshold not held, a note above the table says how many and asks you to look each one up on that state’s revenue website. Bokapsys does not decide where you must register. If the table is empty, it fills in once you have sent invoices to customers with a billing address.
Rate Lookup
Section titled “Rate Lookup”Tax → Sales Tax → Rate Lookup shows the statewide sales tax rate for a state on a date. Choose the State, set On this date, and click Look up rate. The result shows the state’s statewide rate, No statewide sales tax, or that no statewide rate is on file for that date. It is the statewide rate only: city, county and district rates are not included, so the rate you charge may be higher. Confirm the rate to charge with your state’s own rate lookup.